Wednesday, 14 May 2014

GODS AND PLANETS

Zion
began life in Naples in 2000 on the initiative of Francesco
Cimminiello and Domenico Sepe. After some line up changes and two
demos, in 2006 the band self-released a first album entitled The
Three Hands, influenced by hard rock and vintage sounds,
completely sung in English. In the following years the band turned to
a more original, mature Italian style and, after a hard studio work,
in 2014 self-released an interesting concept album, 9P - Nove
pianeti (9P - Nine Planets) with a renewed line up featuring
Francesco Cimminiello (bass, moog, vocals), Michele Boggia (organ,
keyboards, synthesizer), Mauro D'Ambrosio (drums) and Vittorio Galdi
(vocals, percussion). The overall sound could recall bands such as Le
Orme or Quatermass but it's not too derivative and the music
perfectly fits the storyline. As for the lyrics, according to the
band, they are freely based on a kind of apocryphal pseudo-gospel and
tell of a spiritual journey from the darkness of hell to the holy
light of God that is in some way depicted by the art cover by Antonio
Massa.

The
opener “Plutone” (Pluto) begins with an evocative keyboard
passage, then powerful organ waves and a nervous rhythm section set a
dark atmosphere. Not only is Pluto the ninth planet from the sun in
the solar system but it's also associated with Pluto or Hades, the
ruler of underworld in classical mythology, God of the Dead and
Riches. The journey towards the light begins right here, in this land
of darkness and doom where crime and sin rule... “Helios, please
tell me if there is a path / That could lead me to you...”.

Then
the dreamy “Nettuno” (Neptune) takes you to the eighth planet
from the sun, named after the Roman God of the Sea. Here you get lost
in the smell of the sea and in your thoughts as you glide in a blue
dream. There's sand in your hands and distant echoes fill your ears.
You're surrounded by a strange silence while the distant light of the
sun is burning on your chest, it's your last resort, nothing but the
sun can show you the way...

The
next leg is “Uranus”, the seventh planet from the sun, named
after the primal Greek god personifying the sky. The atmosphere is
tense and full of mystery. In the night you can observe the timeless
dance of the nine planets around the sun while the stars are looking
for a balance in their astral trips. This is the only track on this
album sung in English... “Like owls need sun to rest / The humans
need night to find their own light... Uranus God! Master of
Thunder!...”.

Next
stop is “Saturno” (Saturn), the sixth planet from the sun, named
after the Roman God of Agriculture. The lyrics depict a tired
peasant, there are tears running down his face, cuts in his hands and
sweat on his forehead. At night he can't rest, he goes through
nightmares and strange signs, bad omens such as toads, owls and
spiders... “I prey to you, God of Earth / Give me peace instead of
war / Please, tell me when men are wrong...”.

“Giove”
(Jupiter), the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet in
the Solar System is also associated to the Roman King of the Gods.
Here the music and lyrics depict a haughty king who rules over his
people with unlimited powers and no mercy. But in the end there's
some room for hope left.
Suddenly the rhythm calms down as the lyrics describe an unexpected
meeting: one day, looking towards the starry sky the king sees a face
with sweet eyes, blond hair and a sunny smile. “You have to serve,
not to rule in this world” - tells him the vision. And the king
feels like an adult coming back to childhood, touched by the light of
his creator.

The
marching beat of next track takes you to “Marte” (Mars), the
fourth planet from the Sun, named after the Roman god of war and
often described as the Red Planet. Here the music and lyrics describe
an apocalyptic landscape drowned in war. There are bloody streets and
singing swords, desperate screams of children soar in the air while
the wings of Death are dancing all around. A whole city is rolling
upon uncountable skulls, the skulls are like seeds carried away by
the wind, destined to sprout in new fightings. But Mars is now
worried since Helios could wage war on him...

The
following “Terra” (Earth) begins by vocals a cappella, then the
rhythm rises while the lyrics depict in some way the mysterious ways
of life. Wisdom and madness are playing, day after day, in an endless
ring-around-the-rosey while men are like children lost in an illogic
dream...

The
next leg is “Venere” (Venus), the second planet from the Sun,
named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. The music and
lyrics describe in some way the meeting with a female grace that can
light the spirit of humankind dancing in harmony around the planet,
defying even the darkest fate...

This
spiritual journey is coming to an end. The last track is divided into
three parts. The first one takes you to “Mercurio” (Mercury), the
smallest and closest to the Sun of the eight planets in the Solar
System, named after the guide of souls to the underworld, the patron
god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence, travellers, boundaries,
luck, trickery and thieves. The lyrics tells about a man who tries to
sell his life, too complex and cold... But who's buying it? The
second part, “Helios”, tells about the final goal of this spiritual journey
describing in music and words the perfect balance of spirit and body.
Everyone has a place in this world and has to find it to let the
light of the creator shine on him... The third part is an
instrumental “outro” that concludes this excellent album.